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Whole Child, The: Development Education for the Early Years and Early Childhood Settings and Approaches DVD

Whole Child, The: Developmental Education for the Early Years

Summary

"If we offer the young children we teach rich and appropriate learning opportunities combined with enough time for them to enjoy and experience those opportunities to the fullest, we will enhance childhood, not violate it." The Whole Childis a practical methods book that explains how to teach young children in ways that foster healthy development. This text focuses on the "whole child" and what they need from the learning environment in order to thrive. It pictures the child as being made up of "selves" - emotional, social, physical, creative, and cognitive--and then examines each of those selves in turn. The physical self includes not only large and fine muscle development, but also the handling of routines because such things as eating, resting, and toileting contribute much to physical comfort and well-being. For the emotional self, the book considers ways to increase and sustain mental health, to cope with crises, to use discipline to foster self-control, to cope with aggression, and to foster self-esteem. Included for the social self are ways to build social concern and kindliness and learning to value the cultures of other people. The creative self covers the areas of self-expression through the use of art materials and creativity as expressed in play and applied in thought. Finally, the cognitive, or intellectual, self is considered in terms of language and literacy development--the development of reasoning and thinking skills via the emergent approach, and the development of specific reasoning abilities. New To This Edition: NEW! Presents the content in a new 16-chapter format. Chapter 6 is a new chapter onAssessmentand Planning-Helps students understand the current emphasis on standards-based education and how to maintain "best practices" while meeting school requirements. Chapter 15 is a new chapter,Fostering the Creative Self-Discusses what creativity is, how it develops, and what teachers can do to enhance childrenrs"s creative growth. Chapter 16 is a new chapter,Developing and Implementing Curriculum for the Whole Child-Helps students pull together the different elements of early childhood education into a cohesive program for the whole child. Other chapters were combined and streamlined for more practical use by instructors. (The content from Chapter 7,Tender Topics, has been integrated into other chapters.) NEW! Discusses the integrated curriculum-Helps students understand the importance of meeting all of the childrenrs"s developmental needs across the curriculum spectrum. NEW! Presents new information about the ecological theory of human development as outlined by Urie Brofenbrenner. NEW! Includes content on children in elementary grades 1-3 in each chapter-Expands the usefulness of the text to primary school teachers.

Author Biography

Joanne Hendrick is professor emerita of early childhood education from the University of Oklahoma. In addition to raising four children of her own, her practical experience includes working with children at the Stanford Speech and Hearing Clinic, directing a parent-child workshop, working in Head Start, and chairing the early childhood areas at Santa Barbara City College and the University of Oklahoma. She holds an undergraduate degree from Stanford University in disorders of speech and hearing and graduate degrees from the University of California in counseling and early childhood education. She is past president of the California Association for the Education of Young Children.

Her current interests include gardening, photography, traveling to exotic places, writing about young children, and enjoying her ten grandchildren.

Dr. Patricia Weissman is co-author with Joanne Hendrick of two renowned early childhood college textbooks: The Whole Child: Developmental Education for the First Early Years (Merrill/Prentice Hall, 2006) and Total Learning: Developmental Curriculum for the Young Child (Merrill/Prentice Hall, 2007). She began her early childhood career as a family care provider for two infants. Having found her calling, she studied early childhood education in the master’s program at San Francisco State University and received a doctorate of education from the University of San Francisco. During the past 30 years, she has worked as an infant caregiver, preprimary teacher, children’s center director, Child Development Associate (CDA) advisor, professor of early childhood education, and a research associate in early childhood development at the Merrill-Palmer Institute of Wayne State University. She was the founding editor of the journal Innovations in Early Education: The International Reggio Exchange. Dr. Weissman also designed and consulted on the production of the Public Broadcasting Service video series entitled The Whole Child: A Caregiver’s Guide to the First Five Years. Dr. Weissman is the mother of two adult children whom she feels turned out "quite well."

Table of Contents

The Basics of Good Early Childhood Education

What Is Good Education for Young Children?

Realize You Are Part of a Noble Profession

Can Early Childhood Make a Difference?

Brain Development Research

Effects of Early Childhood Education

Research Implications for Teaching

Theoretical Foundations of Early Childhood Education

Developmental Approaches

Psychoanalytical Theory

Family-Ecological Theory

Active Learning, Constructivist Theories

Behaviorist or Learning Theory

From Theory to Practice

Types of Early Childhood Education

All Programs Include Children with Special Needs

Center-Based Care

Family Child Care

Public School Programs

A Final Thought About Programs

Basic Premises of This Book

Putting Premises Into Practice: Planning a Good Day For Children

Good Human Relationships Are a Fundamental Ingredient of a Good Day

Families Must Be Included as Part of the Life of the School

High-Quality Education Must Be Developmentally Appropriate

High-Quality Education Is Individualized

High-Quality Education Honors Diversity in Its Many Forms

High-Quality Education Uses Reasonable and Authentic Methods of Assessment to Find Out More About the Children

High-Quality Education Has a Balance Between Self-Selection and Teacher Direction

Both Approaches Are Valuable

High-Quality Education Should Be Comprehensive

High-Quality Education Has Stability and Regularity Combined with Flexibility

High-Quality Education Has Variety

Learning Must Be Based on Actual Experience and Participation

The Program Should Be Reflected on Daily

High-Quality Education Promotes Ethical Standards for Teachers

High-Quality Education Should Encourage Advocacy

The Day Should Be Pleasurable

Working with Families

Opening the Door to Good Communication

Understanding Families

Family Diversity

Challenges to Working with Families

Suggestions for Establishing a Good Relationship Between Family and Teacher

What If The Relationship Is Not Good?

The Preamble: What to Do Before the Situation Arises

Coping with the Initial Encounter: What to Do When That Button Is Pushed

What to Do After the Complainer DeParts

The Return Engagement

Maintaining Good Relationships: Keeping the Lines of Communication Open

Counseling with Families

Practical Pointers about Conducting a Conference

Avoid Interruptions

Beginning the Conference

During the Conference, Stay as Relaxed as Possible

Drawing the Conference to a Close

What to Do After the Conference

Finally, Remember That Information Shared by Parents During a Conference Is Confidential

Limits to Guidance Work

Beyond the Conference: Further Strategies for Involving Families

Families in Crisis

What Constitutes a Crisis?

Some General Principles for Helping Families Deal with Crises

Make Certain the Families Understand That It Is Better to Include the Child in the Situation Than to Exclude Him

Try Not to Overreact, No Matter What the Family Tells You

Do Not Violate the Privacy of the Family

Offer Yourself as a Resource

Child Abuse, Neglect, Sexual Molestation, And Emotional Maltreatment

Fostering Creativity in Play

Purposes of Play

Play Fosters Physical Development

Outdoor Play Connects Children to Nature and Their Environment

Play Fosters Intellectual Development

Play Enhances Social Development

Play Contains Rich Emotional Values

Play Develops the Creative Aspect of the Child's Personality

Play Is Deeply Satisfying to Children

Developmental Stages of Play

Educational Implications

Factors Likely to Facilitate Creative Play

Allow Children's Ideas to Develop and Avoid Dominating the Play

Some Practical Ways to Stimulate and Extend Play

Make a Special Point of Including Children Who Have Disabilities in the Play

Cast Yourself in the Role of Assistant to the Child as You Help Play Emerge

A Rich Background of Actual Life Experience Is Fundamental to Developing Creative Play

Offer Many Opportunities For Outdoor Play

Equipment Plays An Important Role in Facilitating Play

Keep Play Areas Safe and Attractive

A Final Thought

Specific Activities to Encourage Creativity in Play

Creative Dramatic Play -

"Just Pretending"

Block Play

Water Play

Mud and Sand

Computer Play

Providing Cross-Cultural, Nonsexist Education

Teachers' Attitudes

Can Such Attitudes Be Changed?

Suggestions for Controlling and Overcoming Expressions of Prejudice

Broaden Your Frame of Understanding and Acceptance

Find Out What People Are Really Like!

Is Early Childhood Too Soon to Begin Cross-Cultural, Nonsexist Education?